13.2 See the videos found on youtube of a 6-part made for television performance based on the play Fires in the Mirror Discuss the approach that Smith portrays and how she structures her work building toward the final scene in the play. Discuss how effectively she creates this work for television and how different it might be between a stage version and a television version that you watch.
I think Smith’s portrayal of the events in a backwards fashion really fits with her title and the overall theme of her piece. The events are seen differently by all parties, depending on how/when/where the witnesses were standing. The background is important leading up to the actual conflict because it lays the groundwork for the audience to be fully immersed in later. I think the work is perfect for television because it is so much like a documentary. However, it might be hard to do on stage. It is supposed to be a one-woman show, and it is a relatively long piece. The actress also has to dress as many different characters, so the scene changes would be hard to do quickly and might cause the play to lag. There are also historical images that might be hard to show in a play version, unless the production used a large screen or projector.
I think Smith’s portrayal of the events in a backwards fashion really fits with her title and the overall theme of her piece. The events are seen differently by all parties, depending on how/when/where the witnesses were standing. The background is important leading up to the actual conflict because it lays the groundwork for the audience to be fully immersed in later. I think the work is perfect for television because it is so much like a documentary. However, it might be hard to do on stage. It is supposed to be a one-woman show, and it is a relatively long piece. The actress also has to dress as many different characters, so the scene changes would be hard to do quickly and might cause the play to lag. There are also historical images that might be hard to show in a play version, unless the production used a large screen or projector.